Every month Stereophile magazine offers authoritative reviews, informed recommendations, helpful advice, and controversial opinions, all stemming from the revolutionary idea that audio components should be judged on how they reproduce music.
I’m writing this column on the long flight back to New York City following High End Munich, the big hi-fi show that in regular times takes place each May. Because these are not regular times, this was the first Munich show since 2019. This show was smaller than other recent Munich shows: COVID in the Far East limited involvement by people and companies from East Asia, and German government–mandated attendance caps limited the number of people who could enter at any one time. Even so, it was a big show, with some interesting product introductions and prototypes.1 A big hi-fi show is a great place to see and audition new hi-fi equipment. Of at least equal importance to me, it’s also a good opportunity to talk about hi-fi with leading…
Letter from a Herbivore I think the publisher should consider changing the name of the magazine from Stereophile to Herbophile. Tim Grindell,Hastings, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand Vinyl vs digital There is much confusion in the industry about what vinyl is and what it isn’t. I see much being said about “vinyl vs digital,” as if vinyl was a synonym for analog. Analog music represents the actual, continuous sound waves generated by the artists and their equipment. Most of the vinyl being produced today is from digitally mastered music. Does vinyl somehow transform this digitally sampled music into continuous sound waves? Of course not. Vinyl is the preferred delivery technology for analog music and, more recently, a complement to digital music. It is not a synonym for analog. Jeff Weiner,Scottsdale, Arizona…
US: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Jason Victor Serinus The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS) has chosen John Atkinson, former editor-in-chief and now technical editor of Stereophile, as the winner of its 29th annual Founder’s Award. The award comes 57 years after JA1 began making recordings on his first tape recorder and 46 years after he began working at a hi-fi magazine, as an editorial assistant at British magazine Hi-Fi News & Record Review. John’s career has been illustrious and varied. Due to his self-described “schizophrenic nature,” he was passionately drawn to music but excelled in science. John said goodbye to formal instrumental study and went the science route, earning a B.Sc. in physics and chemistry from the University of London and postgrad certification as a high school science…
ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, email Chris Vogel at vgl@cfl.rr.com. (Please note the new email address.) Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless it is associated with a seminar or similar event. CALIFORNIA: TORRANCE ■ Sunday, August 21, 2–5pm: The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society will hold its monthly meeting at The Source Audio Video Design Group in Torrance (3035 Kashiwa St.). Well-known loudspeaker designer and Society member Andrew Jones will present the meeting’s seminar, covering his professional experience with several manufacturers to help people learn what to look for—and listen for—when purchasing speakers.…
Whenever I do turntable-setup seminars, I complain to the participants about the lack of cartridge-pin diameter and clip-opening standards. Anyone who does their own setup has experienced it: The connection is too tight or too loose. Forcing the clip onto the pin usually results in a broken-off clip that most end users don’t have the soldering skills needed to repair; in the worst case, it can even result in damage to the cartridge when you try to remove the clip from the pin. Too loose a fit may result in a plier squeeze that irreparably collapses or breaks the clip, with the same end result. I recommend the toothpick fix. If the pin is too big for the clip, insert a round toothpick into the clip to expand it. If…
I was born an obsessive reader and a compulsive tinkerer. During the ’60s, I subscribed to Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Hot Rod, Car Craft, Motor Trend, Road & Track, and (of course) Stereo Review and High Fidelity. Every one of those magazines presented articles discussing the importance of upgrading stock wiring to better-quality “premium” wires, citing improved electrical performance and greater reliability. That was a time when drag-racing cars began using thick, “fuel- and flame-resistant,” silicone-sheathed wires between magnetos and spark plugs. Every street rodder who could afford it sported a Mallory Super Mag distributor. Exposed engines were the norm, and a Tach-Drive Super Mag with expensive, bright-colored spark-plug wires was a status symbol on street rods. Even the humble act of replacing the black-rubber–sheathed wires on your daily driver…
